The present invention relates to the field of backpacks, and, more particularly, to a two-in-one hydration pack for carrying liquid which has a hydration pack portion and an attachable backpack portion.
Backpacks are extremely useful in many different settings. They are not only used for carrying everyday items, such as schoolbooks, but are also used for assisting those engaged in physical activities such as hiking, camping, biking, and skiing. These uses in particular call for special packs that are capable of easily carrying liquid for drinking, cooking, and washing. These special packs are called xe2x80x9chydration packs.xe2x80x9d Hydration packs are an alternative to a user having to carry, for example, the liquid in a thermos or water bottle placed in the backpack or on the user""s person. A thermos or water bottle may be easily misplaced or damaged, and moreover it can be inconvenient for a user to access the thermos or water bottle while engaged in a physical activity.
Hydration packs are often constructed so that a bladder portion of the pack holds the liquid, which the user may access by way of a hose attached to the bladder portion. This configuration affords the user convenient access to the liquid. The bladder or reservoir is normally a polyethylene water storage unit that slides into a pouch that is typically sewn inside the rear of the packbag. The polyethylene bladder or reservoir cannot be used by itself as a backpack. Typically, then, the bladder portion is integrated with the pack; that is, the bladder portion is sewn to the pack or fastened in some other irreversible manner. This can be a drawback, however, in that the user of the pack is restricted to carrying the entire pack, even if the user knows he or she will be needing only the bladder portion of the pack on that particular day. This forces the user to carry unnecessary weight and bulk, and provides a pack that is more unwieldy than need be. Conversely, if the user happens to not need the bladder portion of the pack, he or she must nonetheless carry around the entire pack including the bladder portion.
One typical hydration pack is Hydrobak(trademark), made by Camelbak(copyright). Hydrobak(trademark) is a pack which may be used only for hydration purposes; that is, the pack has no extra pockets for carrying additional items, and otherwise has only very limited carrying space in the form of an elastic cord located on the front of the pack. Therefore, the sole function of the pack is to carry water to keep the user hydrated.
Another typical hydration pack is Cloud Walker, also made by Camelbak(copyright). Cloud Walker is a hydration pack which does have additional carrying space in the form of pockets. However, the bladder portion of the pack is integrated into the pack, and cannot be separated from the pack.
The drawbacks of the prior art as discussed above are overcome by the present invention.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the above mentioned problems by providing a hydration pack having a hydration pack portion and an attachable backpack portion. In this way, the user is able to easily attach or detach the backpack portion from the hydration pack portion which carries the bladder portion. Therefore, if the user wishes simply to use the smaller hydration pack portion, and not the entire pack, the user may simply detach the backpack portion and use the hydration pack portion separately.
The present invention therefore provides a so-called xe2x80x9ctwo in onexe2x80x9d hydration pack which has a hydration pack portion and a standard backpack portion which are detachably connected to each other. The two portions can be used together as a hydration pack/standard backpack combination or separately as a pack solely for hydration purposes. The hydration pack fits within the backpack. The invention allows the opportunity for a person to purchase one product that will serve two purposes or needs.
In summary, the present invention in one embodiment provides a two-in-one hydration pack. It includes a hydration pack portion, having a bladder portion for holding liquid, a pair of shoulder straps with male mating means disposed at a bottom end of each shoulder strap, and a first pair of female mating means disposed at a bottom of the hydration pack portion for receiving the male mating means of the shoulder straps when the hydration pack portion is used separately. It further includes a backpack portion attachable to and circumscribing the hydration pack portion for providing additional carrying space, the backpack portion having a pair of openings disposed at a top of the backpack portion for receiving each shoulder strap and having a second pair of female mating means disposed at a bottom of the backpack portion for receiving the male mating means of the shoulder straps to attach the backpack portion to the hydration pack portion. This permits the hydration pack portion and the backpack portion to be detachably connected to each other. The male and female components could also be reversed; it is simply necessary that the components be complementary.
The male mating means of each shoulder strap may comprise a male snap buckle, and the first and second pairs of female mating means may each comprise a pair of female snap buckles.
The bladder portion may comprise a bag for holding the liquid, with a hose extending from the bag to enable a user to access the liquid. A mouthpiece may be disposed at the end of the hose, the mouthpiece having a slit to allow the user to bite down and receive the liquid.
The present invention in another embodiment provides a two-in-one hydration pack. The hydration pack portion has a bladder compartment for holding liquid. The backpack portion is attachable to and circumscribes the hydration pack portion for providing additional carrying space. There are mating means for attaching the backpack portion to the hydration pack portion such that the backpack portion and the hydration pack portion are detachably connected to each other.
The hydration pack portion may further comprise a pair of shoulder straps, each shoulder strap having a bottom end detachably connected to one of the hydration pack portion and the backpack portion by way of the mating means.
The backpack portion may further comprise a pair of openings disposed at a top of the backpack portion for receiving the pair of shoulder straps when the bottom end of each shoulder strap is detachably connected to the backpack portion by way of the mating means.
The mating means may comprise male mating means disposed at the bottom end of each shoulder strap, a first pair of female mating means disposed at a bottom of the hydration pack portion, and a second pair of female mating means disposed at a bottom of the backpack portion.